The Variation of Destiny S4: The Dawn of Destiny
by HappytheExceed
Summary: AU: Sequel to S3. Natsu had become the vessel of the most evil mage on Earth. The fairies, the demons and the council were after him. They would have to face off with their own demons before they could reach Natsu who was fully awakened with his true ability. The mystery surrounding Natsu Dragneel will be unlocked.
1. Chapter 1: The Lost

**Hi, long time no see. It had been a long while since I last posted my instalment for The Variation of Destiny. I haven't forgotten about it. Life had just caught up with me, at the same time, I'm quite into Star Trek for some time. **

**This is the long awaited longest installment of "The Variation of Destiny S4" where secrets and background stories of various characters will be revealed. I hope you will be surprised. Updates will not be frequent depending on various factors. **

**Once again, most of the scenes were retold from the anime hence they seem familiar. Yes, I retell stories from the scenes into a new story of my own. This season is mostly based on the Tenroujima Arc except the first few chapters which were rewritten. Enjoy!**

**Thank you ahuna67 for the beta. **

**Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, it is not mine. **

**Please read and review. **

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**Chapter 1: The Lost**

This was another bright sunny day where a port town was bustling with life. The town folks were doing their usual stuff earning their living in the market, and some at the port ferrying passengers to and from their destination.

In the midst of it, a man was running toward the port direction which caught the attention of the busy folks due to his awkward outfit. He wore a dark blue cloak and his arms and legs are mostly covered in bandages. On top of that, he wore a dark blue bandana with a silver forehead protector and a green mask that obscured the bottom half of his face. Gripping his book tightly he attempted to run to his destination at the shortest amount of time.

"They are due to be back today. How did the mission go?" The man thought in curiosity. He heard words of the Magic Council capturing two men who came from a dark guild and he hoped to avoid the council as much as possible.

He finally caught sight of the opening where an army of the council members cuffed two men who were in delusion. He recognized them as core members of Grimiore Hearts, two of the Seven Kin of Purgatory. One of them had silver-colored hair combed in a pompadour style and the other was a fat while guy who was stuttering words not even he could made out of. Behind them a black ship in ruin was undergoing investigation. A body bag was seen carried on a stretcher. The crowds were talking about it.

As the man moved forward, a figure in red robe sped past knocking on him. The figure on robe shot a glance at the masked man before turning away running on continuing on his way. The man in mask felt a tinge of dark magic leading him to turn to his back at the figure who had disappeared before he realized it. Shrugging off his ill feeling, he made his way towards one of the council guards to find out what was going on.

"I'm Mystogan, a mage of Fairy Tail. May I know what was going on?"

The guard was unwilling but since it involved Fairy Tail, he told him whatever he knew. Mystogan who was actually Jellal widened his eyes in horror.

"What?" He could not believe his ears. He turned his eyes to the body bag being carried to the carriage. That was some god damn powerful mage who was killed in cold blood.

"It was by death magic. I'm sure of it." The guard whispered. "The ship departed from the annihilated Tenrou Island. It was said a black dragon had appeared devouring whatever in sight and nothing is left of that island." The guard continued as Jellal curled his fist. He took a deep breath.

"What about Fairy Tail?" Jellal finally asked.

"Annihilated. Nothing is left of them." Another man in orange and red strip appeared before Mystogan. "I'm sorry, we can't locate anyone alive." He looked down in despair. Jellal recognized him. The man was one of the top rune knights, Mest who used to be under his and Pantherlily's command. "Rest assured that we will send in reinforcement to try and locate anyone alive. I will most certainly keep Fairy Tail informed. I shall see this through the end." He finally looked up to the man in mask who was trembling.

Despite his cold and unfeeling appearance, Jellal was afraid. Afraid of the fact that he had lost his comrades and in the group headed to Tenrou Island. Afraid of the fact that his disciple, Tsuna was dead. Afraid that his most trusted companion, Pantherlily was dead and most importantly, his only love, his ex-wife, Erza was dead.

The man known as Mest folded his arms deep in thought. Initial autopsy on the body of the dead mage told him something important. Someone could have survived. He was the one who maneuvered the ruin ship to Hargeon. This person was dangerous. He bit his lip at the thought of a murder he witnessed first hand back at the island and the red eyes of the murderer which was filled in anger. Recovering his composure, Mest got back to work. He walked away from Mystogan leaving him to gather his own thought while he proceeded to request for reinforcement. Even if the hope was tiny, he was hoping to find survivors and he was determined to capture the mage of Zeref who was believed to have survived, alive.

Jellal on the other hand had a hard time getting on hold of himself. "Not Erza. This is impossible." Losing his composure, he ran to the criminal who were almost loaded to the carriage in silver hair, and grabbed his tattered clothes by his collar despite rune guards trying to stop him.

"Where are the core members Fairy Tail? Jellal demanded. The man looked at Jellal in daze. He did not understand his words. He thought about it a while and answered.

"Oooo, the fairies? They were all fallen, the dragon wiped them all out. The fairy tale does not end with happily ever after." The man didn't even know what he was saying as though he had lost his soul. Jellal gave up. He let go of him. "The lord killed our master. We shouldn't have awakened him." The man screamed and clutched his head in fear with his cuffed hand.

"Spare us, my lord! We will do your bidding." The man known as Rustyrose had lost his mind. All eyes were watching as he was dragged into the carriage.

_"What exactly had happened?"_ Jellal was determined to find out.

* * *

The boy in red robe could not stop running. He ran into a plain right into a cave. He had taken (stolen) some fruits from the market in the midst of the chaos by the Magic Council as he gobbled all his loots. He had not felt hunger for the longest period of time. It was due to the magic wearing off due to over usage and he finally felt fatigue on top of hunger.

He removed the hood of the rode to reveal his dirtied salmon hair and his tear stricken face. He leaned against a huge rock deep in thought. He had made a pact with someone on the island.

***Flashback***

_"This is going to take time. Meanwhile, will you be able to hold the fort?"_

_The boy thought for a while before answering with determined eyes, "Yes, I will. I will hold the guild together as long as possible as long as I'm alive."_

_A young girl who looked as light as feather nodded._

_"I believe in you. I will count on you to take care of the guild because it's going to be a long wait…"_

***End Flashback***

The salmon haired boy pulled up his sleeve and gasped in disbelief. His Fairy Tail mark was returned.

"Since you fulfill your promise, I promised to fulfill yours, Master." The boy mumbled as he toppled to the ground as he shifted into foetus position and fell to a deep slumber he had wanted for the longest time.


	2. Chapter 2: The Short Reunion

**Thanks for faving and the following my fic. Just a reminder that Natsu of the Dragneel Clan is known as Natsu Dragion here due to safety reason as explained in S3 which I guess many of the readers had forgotten about. It had been a while after all.**

**Maybe I'll try to update once or twice a week. Please read and review.**

**Thanks ahuna67 for the beta. **

**Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is not mine. **

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**Chapter 2: The Short Reunion**

The boy who curled himself up to sleep was aroused by the increasing volume of noises made by all the footsteps marching in. He vaguely opened his eyes and blinked before realising what he had got himself into. He was being surrounded by rune knights of the Magic Council. His eyes widened in horror when he realized his hands was cuffed by a magic canceller.

"By the order of the Magic Council, Natsu Dragion, you are under arrest for the treason against the Council for being in cahoots with the traitor, Jellal Fernandes, breaking out prisoner, Zero and the destruction of Tenroujima". Lahar read the order aloud. The salmon-haired boy glanced around hoping to find an opening somewhere to escape. He could not afford to get caught now. He had a promise to keep.

"Come with us!" Lahar pulled the boy up and yanked him upright before dragging him out of the cave surrounded by the remaining of the rune knights' army. As soon as they were out of the cave, the boy used his head to head-butt Lahar to catch him by surprise and release his grasp on him. Natsu attempted to make a run but was surrounded by the alarming number of the knights charging up on him.

"Let me go!" The boy screamed in panic as he was being pinned down by a number of them. He struggled against the grips when he felt that one of them lessened. But before he could take advantage of it he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He looked up and saw the rune knight with a sedative. "_Damn it all….." _was his last thought before he succumbed himself to the darkness.

"He really was a pain in the ass " Lahar commented as he confronted the unconscious worn-out and tear-stricken boy.

* * *

Three months had passed since the news of the destruction of Tenroujima had spread. Even though there had been no findings, the remaining members of Fairy Tail remained hopeful.

Jellal as Mystogan was pacing up and down in the guild as he was waiting for news from Wakaba and the rest who went out to find out for updates to the search for the lost Tenrou team. Usually, he would not stay in the guild for long but due to the gravity of the events, he had no choice but to be Acting Master as nominated.

Wakaba who had a cigarette in his mouth came back panting at the door. He stood by as he tried to catch his breath while Jellal and Macao approached him.

"How is it?" Jellal asked.

"They have found someone. The council…" Wakaba tried to catch his breath. At the same time, Jet sped back to the guild with Droy after returning in disappointment. They had caught the words of Wakaba and urged him to continue.

"I'm saying the council had arrested someone suspicious and they are eager to pin all the blames on him. The council will give us further details once they had made their decision."

"You got to be kidding me." Sweat formed on Jet's head. "We were told that it was a dragon which destroyed the island. What does it got to do with a human?"

Jellal was taken aback. He was deep in thought on the basis of decision. Makao approached Jellal. "Mystogan?" Makao called. "Mystogan." Jellal lifted his head. Something was amiss. He finally spoke up.

"Wakaba, tell me the description of the person who was caught."

Wakaba scratched his head bitting on his cigarette. "I'm not sure. They said it is a young man. Probably a teenager or early twenty. He had committed a lot of crimes and all of them came with heavy sentence. Poor boy, I don't think he will ever see the sun again. One thing is he is related to that Jellal for sure." Wakaba commented.

Jellal clenched his fist. "Is he charged with breaking out a prisoner or something alike?

"I guess so."

"That's it. I'm going to save him." The masked man sped out.

"Mystogan?" Wakaba and Makao called in unison. Jet ran after Mystogan but was stopped by him. Mystogan ordered him to stay to wait further news. Jet had the speed, so he could always ran to him if need be.

_"It's either Natsu or Tsuna."_ Jellal thought. The former was more a possibility as he was not even sure if he was actually on the island. If not, Tenrou Team could have perished in vain. He needed to find out.

* * *

Jellal took a deep breath. He was back at the Era, the branch at Fiore where the prisoner was held.

"Jellal!" The masked man was caught stunned to hear his name.

"I knew it. I should have known you are Mystogan and you have been hiding in Fairy Tail." A man approached him. He was Mest who had been waiting for him. Hundreds of possibilities ran through his mind. Jellal had to try to get out of this somehow.

"Don't worry, I don't intend to rat on you for promotion. I would have like to if I have not been through what happened at Tenroujima. Besides, Jellal Fernandes was framed. He had been acquitted from all charges. He is no longer a fugitive. He is free."

Jellal was surprised but in case this was a fraud, a trap to catch him red-handed, he better be safe than sorry.

"Did Natsu?" He asked cautiously.

"Yes, someone turned himself/herself in and confessed the crimes and freed Jellal from all the crimes he was accused of. He is free. But that person is not Natsu Dragion. The charges on Natsu Dragion is already enough to imprison him indefinitely. "

Jellal turned to face him in doubt. He scanned Mest and wondered if he could trust him.

"Come with me. I will take you to Natsu Dragion." Mest walked and signalled Jellal to follow him. Jellal followed in wary.

Screams could be heard as the duo walked down the path to the prison. As usual, the Council used torture techniques to force information out of defiant prisoners.

If it was in the past, Jellal would have been cold towards this but now, he began to feel empathy for them as he saw how they are being tortured with magic draining devices and whip.

The duo came to the transporter and two guards approached Mest.

"Sir!" Two guards greeted Mest. Mest nodded and signalled them to leave. They took the transporter up towards the crystal where various prisoners were held and they headed to where a salmon-haired boy was found lying against the wall of the crystal. He was groaning in pain.

"Natsu!" Jellal called his name as he squatted down by the crystal.

"Make it fast." Mest informed Jellal who nodded in response.

"Natsu!" Jellal knocked on the wall of the crystal.

The salmon-haired boy stirred and started to cough. He struggled to open his eyes and could barely make out who was outside the crystal. He tried to sit himself up against the crystal.

"Teacher?" His voice was faint but Jellal was relieved. Natsu was alive. He was right in front of him with a 4-inch crystal separating them. He placed his hand on the crystal. Natsu tried his best to raise his hand to reach for his. Natsu smiled weakly.

Jellal could see signs of torture on Natsu both physically or mentally. Tears fell down the boy's cheek.. Jellal felt really sorry. He shouldn't have taken him as his disciple. Natsu was a descendent of the Dragneel Clan, his foundation was much higher than the Fernandes. Just who did he think he was? He did not deserve to be called a Teacher by Natsu when he had not even done anything for him and all Natsu had been enduring was endless sufferings.

Jellal snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed something was amiss. He could not sense Zeref from Natsu. It could be due to the draining of his magic but Zeref could not be removed that easily. Jellal wanted to ask more but decided not to as he sensed Mest approaching him telling him it was time to leave.

"Natsu, I will get you out of there. Promise me you will hang in there for me". Natsu barely understood him. He nodded weakly. Jellal smiled, and even if Natsu couldn't see it because of his mask, his eyes told it all. Jellal watched Natsu's hand slip down the crystal as he fell unconscious once again. Jellal tried to knock on the crystal to wake his disciple up afraid that he could have...

"NATSU!" Jellal looked down at Natsu's unconscious form in despair.

Mest placed his hand on Jellal's shoulder. "He will be alright. The Council won't let him die."

Jellal decided that he had to bail Natsu out. And fast.


	3. Chapter 3: The Rescue and the Decision

**Merry Christmas everyone! Wherever you are, either the day just started, in the midst of it or ending soon. Hope you have lots of fun. **

**Here I come with a new chapter. I haven't been working much on the fic at the moment. Updates will be slow so I will try to remind readers on some settings from this series as and when I need to. Thanks for the faves and follows.**

**This chapter will introduce a character named Elsa Knightwalker. Of course if you are fans of Fairy Tail, you might have guessed that she is based Erza Knightwalker. As for who exactly she is, you will have to read on. She is a weapon mage of the former Dragneel Clan.**

**Thank you ahuna67 for the beta. Fairy ****Tail is not mine. Please read and review.**

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**Chapter 3: The Rescue and the Decision**

The group who remained in the guild gathered around Jellal. Jellal sighed. He had no clue, no access to any updates the Magic Council might have on hand. He regretted having forfeited his Wizard Saint status thanks to the sinister scheme by the Grimoire Hearts.

Mest had asked him if he was willing to come back to the Council (in respect that Jellal may not want to reveal himself in public yet despite all allegations against him had been lifted) after escorting him out from his visit with Natsu. Jellal decided to give it a thought but deep down, he had decided not to return as he had a much more important mission to fulfill: to keep his guild strong and ongoing even without the core members. They couldn't collapse of the weight of the tragedy, they needed to hang on, and Jellal had to be there for them.

Jellal knew that Natsu might be the answers to his doubts and the Council knew that. The Magic Council would not let him off because of this. He had been pacing around the guild deep in thought. Natsu looked too weak and frail to be able to endure more of the torture from the Council. What could he do in order to save him? The crime Natsu had committed and liable to was too much for him to be able to fight for his freedom.

The book he had been holding to fell off from the bundle he carried. That was the book he managed to get from Elsa, the woman Master Makarov had asked him to meet up with. The key to the removal of the Zeref magic. Despite that, Elsa had warned Jellal against using it on Natsu.

***Flashback***

_"I hate to admit. You are good! Still as cunning as ever." Elsa whose face reminded Jellal of his ex-wife panted looking down in defeat. She was caught off guard when she heard of the survival of the Dragneel Twins._

_"You are pretty strong too. How many years had there been? I didn't expect that you were studying magic weapons under the Dragneel Clan. You kept your secret well." Jellal approached Elsa Knightwalker and offered his hand to her who accepted a bit reluctantly. "You know I had always wanted to defeat you. I despised you." Elsa muttered bitterly. "I trained hard for this but you are indeed as powerful as people had described, Jellal. It still pisses me off that you flirted with me because you like my hair colour which resembles the apples." Elsa passed Jellal the book. With that, her responsibility towards the clan she served had ended._

_"Thanks for the book." Jellal lifted the book up to have a good look. Mission accomplished. "Let's talk again to catch up. I need to rush." Jellal smiled. He would love to apologise to her but he didn't have the luxury of time that day. He took off immediately._

_"Is it really true that Young Masters, Natsu and Tsuna…"_

_"Yes. They survived." Jellal stopped in his path and replied. "Natsu, he…" Elsa cut him off as she knew the rest as Makarov had briefed her during their communication. She was not told the detail other than Zeref was awakened in a new vessel. Elsa had more or less understood what her mistress Elie was trying to say in the book. Hence, she knew the complication._

_"It's the best if Young Master can get through this and gain control of this magic. If not, probably it is better to put him out of misery."_

***End Flashback***

"You know Elsa, I'm not going to end Natsu. I will save him." Jellal smirked as he picked up the book. Enlightened on what he was going to do next.

Jellal Fernandes appeared before the Council well and alive. Mest stood behind him.

"We should have expected you to appear before us after your case had ended." Org sighed and eyed him cautiously and continued. "You understand that even so, your status as the Wizard Saint had been revoked. If you want it back, you have to go through THAT again. Since you are here with us, can I assume you intend to return to the Council? "

"No, Sage. I'm here with another purpose." Jellal looked up to Org. The other Council members wanted to protect but was stopped by the chairman, Gran Doma.

"Spill it out, Jellal. You wouldn't have called for us if it is not for something important enough for you to show yourself to us as soon as the allegations against you had been lifted."

"Pretty direct of you, sir. Well, let me give you some updates on my findings since my last mission and on the Dragneel Clan…"

* * *

Natsu Dragneel moaned in pain. Because of the damn frogs draining his magic, he slipped in and out of his consciousness.

"I'll not give up." Natsu murmured in inaudible voice. He could barely keep himself awake. He wonder how long had he been locked in here. Natsu had been undergoing pain from the tortures from the beatings and the draining of magic power. Natsu was glad somehow. Because he would not have enough power to activate Zeref and let the whole world learnt the fact that he was the vessel of the most evil magic in existence. All they wanted was the details of Tenroujima and why was he there? Yet, they were not able to get anything out of him.

"Ahhhhhh!" Natsu screamed when the frog sent another waves of thunder shocking him. He smirked when the frog approached him.

"Do you think that we're not going to kill you?" The frog snarled angrily. "You will be here till the end of your life anyway."

"No… I won't…" Natsu mumbled. He could foresee himself being saved. Meanwhile, he got to endure. He was never wrong in his vision so far. The frog got so flared that he picked up his staff proceeding to hit him really bad. Before he could do that, Jellal's voice ranged through the torture chamber.

"By the order of the Council, I ordered you to release Natsu, of the Dragneel Clan!"

With that, Natsu was released from his chain. Natsu collapsed and his fall was broken by Jellal who caught him in the nick of time. He could see the wounds all over Natsu and blood flowing out from many areas of his torn and worn out clothing. That just showed the brutality of the Council if need be. Jellal knew it very well. He gritted his teeth in anger. He wished he could tear the Council apart. He cradled Natsu who struggled to open his eyes.

"You really came for me." Natsu mumbled in weakly.

"Yes, I did." Jellal looked at Natsu in concern. Natsu smiled before losing his consciousness. He knew he would be in safe hands.

"NATSU!" Jellal shook him. He had no time to lose. Natsu needed medical attention. With Mest's help, they were teleported out of the Council.

"This is as much as I can help you. Stay out of trouble! Good luck!" Mest's voice was heard in Jellal's head once they re-materialised outside the Council.

The healing mage, Porlyusica was not someone easy to deal with. She hated humans and she would throw them all out if they showed up at her house. However, after the Tenroujima incident, she had dropped her mask. Despite what had happened, she was still concerned of the well-beings of Makarov and his kids.

"Leave him on the bed!" The pinked hair mage ordered Jellal and got to work. She scanned him for a while. This was the first time she saw him as a well dressed young man who was used to known as the Wizard Saint and Erza's ex-husband in person.

At one glance, she knew Natsu was in critical condition. He was already briefed by Jellal before he headed to the Council. She should have expected his condition to be that bad. It was the power of Zeref which kept Natsu alive so far and still was.

She wiped off the sweat from the unconscious boy and cleaned his wound with Jellal's help. It took them one whole night to fix him up. After a week, Natsu's condition did not improve.

In fact it had worsened. One day, Porlyusica came back from her trip to pick up some herb. To her horror, she saw Natsu sprawled unconscious on the ground trying to reach for the door. She turned him over and was horrified at the sight of his face. Natsu had been vomiting out blood, overflowing especially from the side of his mouth. He was sweating really hard. He could barely opened his eyes before falling unconscious again.

This time, he stopped breathing.


	4. Chapter 4: The Mission

**Happy New Year! Wishing everyone all the best in this coming year. I'm grateful for the support for the past year. Thank you for faving, following and reviewing my fics. Please continue to do so. Hope everybody enjoy!**

**The main bulk of the story starts in this chapter. I decided that I will not italic the flashback since it will be an agony to read. There are going to to other flashbacks within flashback too in future chapters. ****That was where I will use italic.**

**I'll like to thank ahuna67 for the beta of my fic. **

**Fairy Tail is not mine.**

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**Chapter 4: The Mission**

_"Natsu! Can you hear me? Natsu!"_

The boy could vaguely hear someone calling for him. Their voices were fading as Natsu felt himself sinking. He struggled to open his eyes. Natsu raised his hands attempting to reach for the light above him.

_"Teacher? Porlyusica-san? Ahh… That's right. I must be dying right? Everything hurts" _Natsu thought to himself in realisation. So much for wanting to live on. Natsu found himself sinking further.

_"Perhaps, I should just give up."_

_"Natsu?" _A familiar female voice ranged through the space. Natsu was startled and started looking around. It was Lucy's voice.

_"Lucy?" Natsu called out._

_"Brother!"_

_"Natsu!"_

_"Hey Flame Brain!"_

_"Natsu."_

_"Salamander."_

_"…"_

Natsu recognized all the voices. They came from the Tenrou team. He looked around for them but no one was around.

_"It's my imagination." _Natsu looked down to his palm and bit his lips.

"It was my fault that all of them perished." He recalled their looks, their smiles and all memories Natsu had for them. Natsu curled up to himself. Perhaps he should just stay where he was. No pain no sadness. All he had was himself. That was his karma. He should just die off and spare the rest the trouble. Damn his power of precognition. Even though he had the power, he could not save anyone.

Another voice ranged.

_"Natsu, I believe in you. Promise me during this time you will hold the guild together." _Natsu gasped as if the owner of the voice was right behind him.

"Master?" Natsu did not dare to look back. He was ashamed. He actually thought of giving up. "I'm sorry." Suddenly, a shadow with sinister smile appeared behind him.

_"Natsu, this is the power you have always desired. Feel the despair. I will grant you all the power you need." _Natsu's eyes widened.

"No! I will not give in!" Natsu screamed clutching his head.

_"You have blood on your hands, there is no turning back, you know it."_

"No! No! No! Get away from me!"

_"Face it, you can't escape from me. Let me remind you again. __You had fallen…"_

"NOOOOO!"

***Flashback***

This was three months ago.

Tenrou Team was on the ship on its way to Tenroujima to catch the trespasser in their sacred island. It was really hot. Due to the clashing currents that are present in the area, Tenroujima is unaffected other climates and weather systems, which keeps the temperature high all year long.

Despite being a fire mage himself, Tsuna could feel the heat. He was melting on the ship.

"Are we there yet?" Tsuna groaned. "My brother better wait for me to take care of him. Thanks to him we are all melting." He could not help but to blame his suffering on his brother.

"Just a while more, Tsuna." Happy replied while fanning him to help him feel better.

"Can't take the heat?" Gray walked over naked to tease him.

"Shut up, Ice Cube. Put your clothes on! Did anyone told you how gross you are naked? My eyes hurts from the sight rather than the heat."

"Woah!" Gray jumped. Juvia handed him his pants.

"Thanks Juvia." Juvia smiled sadly. Gray noticed her tears. She just cried. He was hoping for some resolution soon after hearing news from his orange-haired "information broker" who looked back at him and nodded in acknowledgement on the other side of the ship.

Lucy who was in bikini was fanning herself hard.

"Natsu…" She could not help but to call for him instead of whining about the heat. Kana eyed her with a tinge of disgust. She looked at her trembling hands. Guilt welled up within her.

Wendy was melting on the table across with Mest was watching her closely. Mest was surprised that the white cat, Charles did not join her for this trip despite her all-out protest against her from coming earlier.

Levy was chatting excitedly with Lisanna and Gajeel who decided that he was so bored he used Levy's head for his arm rest which annoyed her. Gajeel had a lot in his mind lately which Levy had noticed but chose not to probe. Perhaps he was just as stressed about the coming up S Class exam.

Elfman and Evergreen were bickering on the heat with Bickslow and Freed decided to watch them to pass time to survive the heat.

They were on their own business until Makarov appeared on the top of the ship signaling the group to gather. Makarov cleared his throat and made his announcement.

"I will explain to you the mission. The mission is to capture the trespasser on our sacred island. The target was identified as a black-haired boy. I want you to split into teams and search around the island. If you find the target, capture him alive and bring him our First Master, Mavis' grave where I will be waiting. The time limit is six hours. After the six hours, gather at our main base of the island whether or not you have found the target. Is that clear? This is also your mock exam for the S Class exam." Makarov looked at the group sternly. That was something unseen before by the group as Master was cheery most of the time. It must be serious for target to trespass the island and Master was pissed.

"Good luck, everyone!" Makarov watched his kids scrambling to the island jumping to the sea or flying in their own ways to get to the island.

"I'm burning up!" Tsuna declared. "Let's see if anyone can defeat me as the fastest man of Fairy Tail. Let's go Happy!"

"Aye sir!" Happy picked Tsuna up to the air and flew before crashing onto an invisible wall.

Master fanned himself and shook his head. "Tsuna, did you forget that this is a S Class mock exam. You are not allowed to participate!" Master reminded Tsuna who banged his fist on the rune.

"That's not fair! I want to join in the mission!" Tsuna protested. His reaction was well anticipated by Makarov who asked Freed to set up the rune meant to stop him. "It's not fair to the others if you participate."

Makarov smirked. "I have something else more important for you to do. Meet up with Gildarts who was already on the island. He will fill you in with the details."


	5. Chapter 5: Happy's Remorse

**Hi! Long time no see. I hope everyone had been having fun during the holidays. Apologies as I admit I'm not quite motivated to write and update this fic as much as I planned to. There are just too much more distraction out there during free time. Besides, it was a finished work in Chinese gif format. To revisit it once in a while for this longest written season is quite a bit of challenge. Due to some rewrites, pardon me for any plot holes and of course, feel free to point out as I'm likely to have forgotten some details.**

**I'm beginning to put up some mysteries for Juvia, Erza and Kana in this chapter. I love the recent interaction between Juvia and Gray in the manga when they were both serious and no silly expression coming from Juvia. I imagined some scenes in mind between them with the setting of this fic combined with anime I had been watching initially. **

**Thank you and enjoy! Please read and review. **

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**Chapter 5: Happy's Remorse **

Tenrou Team split into group and headed on their separate ways. Gray and Leo were in the same team, Gajeel and Levy, Lucy and Kana, Elfman and Evergreen, Erza who decided that she did not want to stay back and cook swapped with Lisanna (objection is not allowed) and joined in the search paired up with Juvia. Lisanna was happy to stay back in the main camp with her sister. They had lots of catching up to do since she was away for years.

Gajeel was pulling Levy up a cliff, Mest and Wendy decided to stroll around while Evergreen was running after Elfman because some monsters were after them.

"Stop complaining and just run!" Elfman yelled while running in panic.

"Why did I even pair with you?" Evergreen complained feeling pissed that he would rather run than face the monster head-on.

***Erza and Juvia***

"I sure hope we can find the trespasser soon." Erza looked around.

"I will settle our score with him today." Juvia responded coldly.

"Score?" Erza asked in confusion. Gray had briefed her about Juvia's psychological condition but he did not fill him enough detail to learn what was going on. It was Juvia's story to tell. Perhaps, she could get her to talk. Erza herself had gone through enough. She had buried her painful past into the back of her mind.

Erza sighed. All the sudden, a memory of a little boy offering his hand to her flashed past her mind.

_"Apple girl!" It was a nickname the little boy in a far distant memory called her by._

"That is?" Erza widened her eyes.

***Gray and Leo***

"Do you want to start searching from here?" Leo pointed to his left while Gray's mind was in somewhere else. He hoped Juvia and Lucy would be fine. He had specially requested Erza to pair with Juvia to ensure her safety. All that was left was Lucy. He had doubts for her ability to defend herself. Kana was strong enough to go for S Class. Even so, he was worried.

"Are you worried about the girls?" Leo had practically read his mind.

"I'm sorry about that."

"No, it's ok, I should be the one who is worried. Right now, we will just do whatever we can until we find that culprit." Leo clenched his fist in anger.

_"Loki, right?"_

***Lucy and Kana***

Lucy and Kana were running through the forest ground very quickly.

"Natsu, wait for me. We are coming for you now."

"Lucy, you are running too fast." Kana complained. Kana followed Lucy reluctantly as the mission strictly required them to conduct the search in a pair. She wanted very much to go on separate ways as there was something important she needed to do. Kana had been plagued by nightmares.

She saw herself once again having both her hands over someone's neck trying to strangle someone to death. The monotonic sound signaling flat line woke her up. Kana closed her eyes in regret. "I need to own up. I need to tell him."

***Makarov in front of the First's Grave***

Makarov was deep in meditation. This would take time. All he could do was to wait.

_"I'm sorry, Elie. It's up to the kids now." _

Tsuna and Happy approached the cave Gildarts was said to be waiting in. With someone like Gildarts around, Tsuna had the confidence his brother would be safe once he was found.

Despite the bright sunlight, the cave was actually not very bright. Right in the core of the cave, the huge man was really waiting there for Tsuna.

"Yo!" Gildarts greeted.

Apparently, he and Tsuna were ordered to stay in the cave on stand-by. They would not want to witness what Master wanted to do. Gildarts might have to stop Tsuna if need be.

"As you probably had deduced, Master planned to destroy the magic along with its vessel." Gildarts informed him of the worst case scenario. No one could stop him, not even your mother. His words pricked Tsuna unable to believe his ears.

"You planned to kill my brother anyway huh?" Tsuna felt cold. Fairy Tail was supposed to be a warm loving guild which brought his brother up to who he was right? They treated him like the younger brother. But now, why?

"Because he is a bane to the peaceful world we are in. As long as he exists, our world is at risk". Gildarts answered firmly without batting his eyes. "To be fair to you, I offer you a challenge, defeat me and I will persuade Master to change his mind." Gildarts smirked at the pink-haired boy who put down his luggage.

"You know what my reply to your challenge is!" With that Tsuna charged to a battle to land a punch to try taking him unaware. Gildarts took it at ease. Tsuna jumped back and gave another shot and was denied once more.

"He had no choice. He had no time to waste. Natsu could be swallowed by the damn power of Zeref anytime while he was here fighting. Zeref was a magic with a personality on its own. Even Jellal had mentioned that Natsu could have been influenced by the magic which resulted in his sudden change of personality. He got to save his brother; he got to keep his promise.

***Flashback***

_The young Dragneel twins were lost in the hazy forest. Natsu sighed as they had been walking in circles and not making any progress in getting out of the woods. He stopped to catch his breath. _

_"Hurry up, brother. It's getting dark." Tsuna shouted in annoyance at his twins who was holding on to the trunk of a tree. He could not stand at the thought of spending the night in the woods. Who knew what was lurking in there and they did not want to be eaten by some unknown monsters when he slept. _

_"Tsuna, will you look for me if I disappear one day?" Young Natsu asked his younger twin brother._

_"Stop talking nonsense. We will always be together. We were born together, remember? Even though you were born a minute earlier than me." Tsuna avoided his brother's usual stupid question. This was not the first time his idiotic brother asked him questions which he could not be bothered to answer._

_Natsu on the other hand got emotional and jumped in front of him blocking his way before tripping and falling on his butt. "Hurry up and answer me!" Natsu rubbed his aching butt._

_Tsuna frowned at his brother who was worked up at his response before he finally replied, "What the hell? Ok, I promise to look for you if you ever disappear one day. Are you happy now?"_

_"It's a promise, Tsuna!" Natsu smiled in contentment._

***End Flashback***

_"It's a promise!" _Natsu's voice echoed in his mind.

"I heard that you are a genius who became an S class mage just learning magic for one year. Come at me! Let me see how much you have grown. I will not hold back even if you are Elie's son." Gildarts urged while taking punches after punches by Tsuna.

"And it is also my honour to be able to challenge the strongest mage of Fairy Tail!" Tsuna smiled feeling impressed by Gildarts' strength. But for his brother's sake, he could not afford to be defeated here. He landed a punch which was stopped by Gildarts with his palm.

"Gotcha!" He thought as explosion occurred around them. The smoke cleared. Tsuna widened his eyes in horror. Gildarts was standing there without a scratch.

"Even so!" Tsuna charged at him once more. "I can't lose here!" He spun his body blazing with fire and bombarded Gildarts with a flurry of Fire Dragon's Claw attack and caught Gildarts by surprise once.

"Hey! Watch out!" Gildarts cried out. Tsuna was the one who was ended up taken by surprise and was punched right on his head and was tossed out all over the place.

Happy was watching Tsuna closely as he reflected on the reason why he participated in this mission. Happy used to be a gossipmonger, gossiping on all the scandals he could find in the guild especially on romance between the guildmates. Alzack and Bisca were one official pairing in the guild. Happy always tried to piss Gray off by teasing him with other girls he could find as Gray was the handsome ice prince who attracted girls all over Fiore fawning over him together with the gorgeous Leo who joined the guild by their Princess Lucy's recommendation later. Juvia despite having nothing to do with Gray was dragged into it. Juvia was never Gray's and never was as she was already someone else's.

Due to his insensitivity, he had unknowingly hurt Natsu, the kind and innocent boy in the guild who knew nuts about his feeling about love. Happy teased the Princess, Lucy for being romantically involved with Leo who was actually engaged with another in back at home. He merely came in to help Lucy who was in distressed being courted by guys all over Fiore. Happy's words were what led Natsu to leave home, leave Fairy Tail to cool his head off. Happy would never have expected that this had caused Natsu to nearly die.

Happy and Gajeel were unfortunate to fall into the trap set by the dark guild, Kingdom Empire. They were the ones who set off to destroy the Lacrimas which was linked to Natsu through Organic Link Magic and the damage Natsu received almost cost his life after being drained of his magic. Natsu fell into a coma as a result. Since then, Happy rarely gossip about others.

Natsu was Happy's very first friend in life and they were always together. They played together, they laughed together, they ate together, they slept together and they fished together.

***Flashback***

_"The fish you caught is really tiny, are you trying to starve me to death?" Baby Happy asked mockingly. _

_ "Do you want to do the fishing yourself instead since you have so much comment?" Young Natsu retorted in a burning red face._

***End Flashback***

They grew up and gone to various mission together as the best of partners. What Natsu loved most was fly with Happy. One of the reasons was Happy was not a transportation and he would not cause Natsu motion sickness.

***Flashback***

_"It feels great, isn't it?" Happy asked. _

_ "Yeah, it had been a long time. This feeling is just so wonderful!" Natsu looked ahead as they soared through the sky._

***End Flashback***

Ever since Natsu fell into coma, Happy had been following Tsuna who was working hard on his behalf around. As Happy heard that it would help to keep talking a comatose patient to try to stimulate his brain to increase his chance of ever waking up again, he would always visit Natsu in the hospital to tell him about Tsuna, hoping that Natsu would be proud of his achievement. Happy was always looking forward to the day when Natsu would finally wake up from his long slumber.

_"Natsu, I'm sorry. It was my fault that you landed to this state. Will you please wake up?"_ Tears fell down Happy's eyes as he tried to shake the unmoving Natsu who was sleeping peacefully with his little paw hoping to wake him up like he usually managed to when they were back at home.

Happy had been following Tsuna and got to know many things about him including his shocking family background. He could understand his feeling of wanting to find Natsu. He felt extremely guilty when he heard that Natsu was captured and was transplanted with dark magic into his body. It was all his fault. If it wasn't for him, Natsu would not have left home and ended up like this.

"Tsuna, hang in there! We will look for Natsu no matter what!" Happy raised his voice and cheered for him.

After sensing out Tsuna of his prowess, Gildarts decided to stop playing around with him. He needed Tsuna to realise that he was missing something and he wanted him to master it. He stared at Tsuna angrily and began to unleash his full power.

In a flash of light, Tsuna hesitated to attack. He tried to muster up the courage to do so for the sake of his brother, he locked his eyes on Gildarts and fear welled up within him. Tsuna eventually lost his resolve, declaring that he lost. Facing with enormous power much greater than what his teacher, Jellal possessed, Tsuna surrendered. As much as he wanted to tell himself otherwise, he realised that he could not win.

"I'm quite surprised that Mystogan no, Jellal didn't tell you when to retreat during a no-win situation even though I admired your courage, to still come at me in the face of enormous power. Looks like even your teacher has a long way to go to fully master his magic to sit on top of the magic world".

Tsuna listened to Gildarts as he continued while he was still in shock, "Those who have the courage to cease fighting are even rarer than those with the courage to go on. Fear isn't evil, but a tool that one uses to acknowledge their weaknesses and become gentle. If you can understand this, you had passed my test. I hope you understand that the fear Natsu had been battling was far greater than you can imagine. This is what I'm trying to teach you today. I hope you still have the courage and resolve to face Natsu when you find him."

Gildarts watched him and could not help but comment that Tsuna took after his late mother. "Get going now! Find Natsu after that the three of us plus Happy would go on an excursion! And of course, if you like to challenge Uncle Gil to fight again, I will be happy to accept." He said with a fatherly smile.

"Tsuna!" Happy reached out to Tsuna while crying his eyes out crying together with Tsuna who was moved to tears.


End file.
